Friday, July 23, 2010

From a pitching standpoint it was another ugly win in the Bronx last night for the Yankees, but, as I've said before, a win is a win.

CC Sabathia wasn't great, giving up four runs (the fourth was charged to Jorge Posada) on a season-high 11 hits. He also walked four and struck out nine.

He spotted the Royals to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Jose Guillen drove in one with a double, and then former Yankees, Wilson Betemit, drove in the second run with an RBI single. It should have been 3-0 after a half an inning, but Guillen didn't hustle getting around the bases on Betemit's single, and by the time Betemit was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, Guillen, who was on second when the ball went into the left field corner, still hadn't crossed the plate.

The Yanks came right back with two of their own in their half against Royals starter Bruce Chen. Alex Rodriguez, who had a big night, drove in both runs with a two-run double.

CC then gave one of the runs back to KC in the second, before settling down and holding them scoreless until sixth. That was enough time for the Yankees offense to build up a nice lead for their southpaw.

Derek Jeter tied the game at three, when he hit a long drive into and out of David Dejesus' glove in deep at the wall in right-center for with turned into an inside-the-park homer in the third. When Dejesus hit the wall he sprained his wrist and the ball popped out allowing Jeter to round the bases. Like A-Rod, Jeter also had a nice game, picking up two hits and an RBI.

The Yanks would score two more in the fifth on a double by Jorge Posada and a sac fly by Marcus Thames to take their first lead of the game. Posada, however, would give that run right back all by himself in the top of the next inning.

CC took care of the first out of the seventh but then lost the plate, walked the next two he faced, and was replaced by David Robertson. Again, it wasn't a great start by CC, but it was good enough for his team-leading 13th win of the year. Robertson took care of the rest of the inning and then it was time for the Yankees offense to put the game away.

A-Rod continued his three-hit night with homer no. 599, and opposite-field shot off Royals reliever Robinson Tejada in the seventh. Then, after a shaky but scoreless eighth from Joba the Yanks would put four on the board in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 10-4. Nick Swisher drove in two and Mark Teixeira and A-Rod drove in the other two.

As you can see it was a big night for the Yankees top of the order. Jeter, Swish, Tex and A-Rod combined to go 10-for-20, with two HR, 3 2B, 8 RBI and 4 runs scored.

Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the Yanks 60th win of the season.

Game two of this four-game series is tonight in the Bronx, with A.J. Burnett facing Brian Bannister. First pitch is at 7:05 pm and the game will be on YES.

From a pitching standpoint it was another ugly win in the Bronx last night for the Yankees, but, as I've said before, a win is a win.

CC Sabathia wasn't great, giving up four runs (the fourth was charged to Jorge Posada) on a season-high 11 hits. He also walked four and struck out nine.

He spotted the Royals to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Jose Guillen drove in one with a double, and then former Yankees, Wilson Betemit, drove in the second run with an RBI single. It should have been 3-0 after a half an inning, but Guillen didn't hustle getting around the bases on Betemit's single, and by the time Betemit was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, Guillen, who was on second when the ball went into the left field corner, still hadn't crossed the plate.

The Yanks came right back with two of their own in their half against Royals starter Bruce Chen. Alex Rodriguez, who had a big night, drove in both runs with a two-run double.

CC then gave one of the runs back to KC in the second, before settling down and holding them scoreless until sixth. That was enough time for the Yankees offense to build up a nice lead for their southpaw.

Derek Jeter tied the game at three, when he hit a long drive into and out of David Dejesus' glove in deep at the wall in right-center for with turned into an inside-the-park homer in the third. When Dejesus hit the wall he sprained his wrist and the ball popped out allowing Jeter to round the bases. Like A-Rod, Jeter also had a nice game, picking up two hits and an RBI.

The Yanks would score two more in the fifth on a double by Jorge Posada and a sac fly by Marcus Thames to take their first lead of the game. Posada, however, would give that run right back all by himself in the top of the next inning.

CC took care of the first out of the seventh but then lost the plate, walked the next two he faced, and was replaced by David Robertson. Again, it wasn't a great start by CC, but it was good enough for his team-leading 13th win of the year. Robertson took care of the rest of the inning and then it was time for the Yankees offense to put the game away.

A-Rod continued his three-hit night with homer no. 599, and opposite-field shot off Royals reliever Robinson Tejada in the seventh. Then, after a shaky but scoreless eighth from Joba the Yanks would put four on the board in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 10-4. Nick Swisher drove in two and Mark Teixeira and A-Rod drove in the other two.

As you can see it was a big night for the Yankees top of the order. Jeter, Swish, Tex and A-Rod combined to go 10-for-20, with two HR, 3 2B, 8 RBI and 4 runs scored.

Chan Ho Park pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the Yanks 60th win of the season.

Game two of this four-game series is tonight in the Bronx, with A.J. Burnett facing Brian Bannister. First pitch is at 7:05 pm and the game will be on YES.